Money
by goatherder
Summary: Asuka and Shinji suddenly find themselves very wealthy. Asuka has one great idea what to do with the money, but is it really that simple? -- light hearted, mindless stuff.



    Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Gainax does.
    Money
    Chapter 1
    Shinji Ikari, the self loathing pilot of the infamous biomechanical beast -
    Evangelion Unit One - was currently trying to find somewhere to feel sorry for
    himself. Keeping to the back streets and quiet trains, he was desperately
    avoiding people, not wanting to take the chance that someone would come and
    tell him that it would all be ok, if he would just let it. That would just
    ruin his day.
    As he stepped onto a train, he didn't even take the time to look at the
    line he was about to venture down. His entrance to the train was obstructed by
    something, or someone, as he suddenly found himself pressing up tightly against
    an unmoving object. Suffering a barrage of hits and curses, he instantly knew
    who he had slammed into. Quickly shuffling around the girl and into the train
    to avoid the sliding doors, he continued staring at the ground, fully accepting
    the tongue lashing from the victim of his ignorant steps.
    Once the cursing had died down to a guttural murmur, he looked up briefly and
    was blessed, or cursed depending on what mood one was in, with the radiant
    sight of the beautiful Asuka Langley Sohryu; the eccentric, boisterous and
    arrogant pilot of Evangelion Unit Two. For a brief moment he stared at her
    passively, but as her expression slowly worked its way into his consciousness,
    he felt a little scared.
    "What the hell are you doing on this train." The girl said loudly, making sure
    that everyone else on the train knew that she certainly didn't want this 14
    year old boy in her presence. Just to make sure they all got the point, she
    folded her arms and pouted her lips, and although it didn't seem possible to
    the mere bystander, intensified her glare.
    "Ummm. Nothing, I just needed to get out for a walk." Speaking in a voice just
    above a squeak, his self loathing intensified as he heard the blatantly obvious
    weakness in his voice. The other commuters who had nothing better to do and
    were somewhat interested in this little event cursed the boy as they had to
    lean in closer, disposing of all inconspicuousness in their eavesdropping.
    "Well, third child. Don't you dare use the train's jarring as an excuse to rub
    up against me, or-" as her teeth were bared, a few small children gasped, "I
    will kill you."
    Gulping to himself, he sunk his chin into his neck and muttered an apology to
    the girl.
    Asuka dropped her arms to her sides, and began to move away. "I'm going to stand
    over-"
    Before the boy had time to listen to the cries and plea's of his self
    preservation instincts, he cut her off. "What are you doing on this train?"
    Her face contorted into a vicious scowl as she looked away, drilling holes into
    a window. Realizing the boy could still see the reflection of her face, she
    quickly merged into the crowd of people. Shinji stood dumbfounded, his
    confusion at the girls actions left him replaying her words over and over,
    trying to find the hidden message. What he had found really worrying was the
    fact that she hadn't she hadn't bothered to assure herself the final word in
    their discussion.
    Shinji shrugged as he resigned his attention down to the floor. As he raised
    the volume on his S-DAT player, the familiar melancholic tunes entered his ears
    reflecting his mood, or, his intended state of mood. It wasn't that Shinji
    needed to be inspired into depression, as that was his inertial state. Days
    like these tended to require further lamentations and he felt like digging
    himself into a deeper and darker pit of misery. It felt much safer in this
    hole of self loathing, as he didn't have far to fall during the next stumble.
    Shinji's traumatic past was partly responsible for his gloomy moods, and it was
    something he could never simply let go of. If he could remember, he would
    clearly be able to trace the peak of his downhill slide to the age of four.
    His mother disappeared at this time which drove his father insane. So insane
    that he tossed the boy aside, leaving him to pursue his own objectives at NERV,
    or Gehirn as it was known as in those days. The boy then spent the larger
    portion of his life in the care of others who never really paid him the
    attention a growing child requires. It was a lonely existence, one that bred
    self doubt and insecurities that plague him even to this day. At fourteen, the
    initial cause of his struggle reared its head and struck out at him again,
    pulling the boy back into the same entangled mess where it had spawned. He was
    thrust back into a scheme created by a powerful organization, commanded by his
    father and core parts conceived by his mother.
    Shinji was now ordered - or manipulated, he thought bitterly - to pilot a forty
    meter tall monstrosity. The bio-mechanical humanoid beast he piloted to defend
    Tokyo-3 against the Angels terrified him. He sat inside a capsule filled with
    some kind of liquid that he could breath, but always instilled him with a
    sense of nausea. This vessel would then be inserted into the rear of the
    Evangelion's neck, and then he would be connected mentally with the machine.
    The shapes of the devices and the processes used would have Dr Sigmund Freud
    nodding in triumph, if he were alive to bare witness. Especially if he knew
    that the soul inside the EVA belonged to Shinji's mother.
    Shinji would command his leg to move, which at the same time caused the robot's
    leg to move. It was an odd sensation, and as the sync was two way, he could
    feel all of the sensations experienced by the Evangelion. Prolonged exposure
    to this activity left his nerves in a jumbled mess. He didn't like it one bit,
    but he felt he didn't have much of a choice anymore.
    Gendo Ikari, an odious man with many secrets of the worst kind; the kind that
    only he knew about, and any others that were cursed with the same knowledge had
    better keep themselves useful, lest they become land fill. The man had quickly
    thrown aside any traces of his humanity when Yui Ikari, his wife, had
    disappeared during the first evangelion activation tests. Unbeknownst to
    everyone else, save for the people high up in the NERV command hierarchy, this
    woman's creation had been her undoing. Evangelion Unit One had absorbed her
    into itself and all attempts to salvage her body were fruitless. Although
    Shinji had been present during this day, the images and sounds had been locked
    safely away in his subconscious, waiting for the day when he would be lying on
    a nice leather couch in an office with someone asking him to describe ink
    blots. Gendo Ikari had simply tossed the boy aside, but ordered him back again
    when he had a use for him. He had manipulated Shinji into piloting by using a
    badly hurt Rei Ayanami as a catalyst in his decision making. Social Services
    would definitely have words with this man, if they could survive the glares he
    was notorious for.
    Shinji's current living arrangements would be considered a small piece of heaven
    to most outside observers. He and Asuka shared the apartment with one Major
    Misato Katsuragi, a gorgeous woman of 29 who was both a pleasing sight and
    an enjoyable experience to behold. Her living habits would be described as
    extravagant to say the least; her morning breakfast consists of several beers
    consumed without a pause for breath, her diet comprises predominantly of
    instant curry and her sense of humor is irrefutably unlike that of any other
    woman of her age. She is still a child in behavior, untainted by the staleness
    of age and career. Yet, if she wanted, she could be a menacing foe. As the
    operations manager of NERV, she is responsible for all the planning and
    outcomes of the battles that take place between the Evangelions and the Angels.
    But her favorite pastime is still getting Shinji to blush.
    His other roommate was the aforementioned Asuka. The fourteen year old girl was
    part Japanese, part German. Her bright red hair seemed to reflect her
    fiery nature, contradicted by her deep blue eyes which hinted at a deep sadness
    but were usually hidden behind a cold icy wall. If anyone managed to break
    through the surface, somehow reaching the inner girl that desperately sought
    kindness and comfort but had been locked up within the self constructed prison,
    they would be rewarded with a glimpse at the person who sat in the shadow of
    her vicious defender; still full of confidence, but lacking the hurtful,
    cynical attacks which were more of a defense than an offense. Her past had
    been of a similar nature to Shinji's and the very same organization had been
    involved. The only difference is, the locks on Asuka's suppressed memories
    were starting to crack and the vivid image of her mother hanging from the
    ceiling flickered in the back of her mind frequently, distracting her from her
    every day activities and causing her to lash out at others, to keep them at a
    distance before they caught sight of her weakness.
    As the train car pulled to another halt, the fourth or fifth since he had
    bumped into Asuka, he saw a brief glimpse of red hair in the mass of departing
    people. There was an urge to follow her that he couldn't act on straight away.
    He was worried about her, ever since he saw her EVA head crash through the
    shelter he had been in. He knew she was depressed too; her synch score had
    fallen to a terribly low value, barely registering above the minimal amount
    required to synchronize with an Evangelion. The last battle had seen her
    defeated with ease, almost destroying her confidence and diminishing the
    value she saw in herself.
    Feeling absolutely positive that he didn't want to follow her, he convinced
    himself that this would be a nice place to get off and begin his walk, to
    resume his brooding. Glancing about to make sure no one suspicious was
    watching him, he set off down the stairs and walked into the forest of the
    concrete jungle before him.
    Not far away, a man in a white suit was pacing around a white limousine parked
    precariously in a vacant building lot. His receding hair was slicked back
    tightly into a long pony tail that hung down his back. On his right hand were
    several large gold rings with various different colored gems set into each. In
    his right hand was a small silver mobile phone that he was currently speaking
    quietly into. His face was narrow and dark, having high cheekbones and a
    pointed chin and his narrow nose supported a large set of dark glasses with a
    thin gold rim. Beads of sweat were currently forming on the mans knotted brow
    as he began raising his voice into the phone.
    Slowly and cautiously, a large and heavily armed man approached. He was not
    attempting to sneak up on him - on the contrary - he was just unwilling to
    startle him, for fear of incurring the mans wrath. He stood nearby, waiting
    patiently for the conversation to end. He had news that he didn't want to
    give, but since he had drawn the short straw with the other guards.
    "You don't ever send me out on one of your errands again, you hear me?! After I
    take care of this, I'm coming to take care of you! I hope for your sake that
    this isn't some kind of setup!" The man spat at the ground as he threw the
    phone at a nearby brick wall, smiling to himself as he watched the small pieces
    of plastic and electronic components fly through the air. He grunted to
    acknowledge the guard behind him, whose presence he had been aware of before
    the guard would have suspected.
    Shuffling forward a step, the large lumbering guard spoke slowly and quietly.
    "Ummm, boss. The guy wants more gear. He said-" Gulping, he reached up and
    scratched his shoulder nervously. "He said it's not enough. We threatened him
    a few times, but, you know... we didn't want to do any more threatening without
    your word."
    The air between the two solidified. Not even the breeze could penetrate the icy
    connection that had been established. The guards heart almost stopped as his
    boss slowly turned around, and then did as he noticed the smile he wore.
    "Good. I needed this." The white suited man muttered as he clenched his right
    hand, releasing a few cracking sounds.
    Sighing with relief, the guard considered his deed to have been a good thing
    and expected himself to be in the bosses good books. He was disappointed
    however when the foot connected to his groin.
    As the white suited man approached the crowd surrounding a small suit case
    wielding person, his day got even brighter as he saw how cruel the beating would
    be on such a defenseless looking man. Straightening his tie, he spoke loudly
    as he approached. "So, changing deals on us at this late a stage are we? Very
    un-professional. You give us the money, and we give you the product. The
    terms are non-negotiable. It has been agreed on!"
    "Ahh, Mr. Yushitoko, It is good of you to finally grace us with your presence."
    The small man adjusted his glasses and looked him up and down, his small wide
    face retaining a calm passive expression. "Yes, I am afraid things have
    changed. My advisor has told me the quality of the product is below the grade
    you promised us. We hope this is not too much an inconvenience."
    Sneering, Yushitoko folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me
    that our gear is not good enough for you? This is the best in Japan, and
    probably the world. Tokyo-3 is so unregulated due to the angel attacks, we can
    make anything up here and take our time with it. So its always top quality."
    "You refuse to bargain?"
    "There is nothing to bargain!" His malicious smile contorted into a frown,
    putting his silver canine on display as he bent his head back, trying to give
    the man a good view up his nostrils and still watching him intently through the
    thin slits of his narrowed eyes. With a wave of his hand, Yushitoko signalled
    for several men behind him to train their weapons on the man. This was replied
    to with a similar action by the opposing men.
    "Very well. This has happened too many times and we cannot keep doing business
    like this. We apologize for this having to happen." Yushitoko's eyes widened
    in surprise, as with a single motion, the man had managed to retrieve a small
    gun hidden in the handle of his case and fire off a bullet. He blinked as he
    felt the impact on his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him
    backwards. Collapsing to the ground, he felt a thickening in the back of his
    throat, which at first he thought was phlegm, but then as the taste became
    clearer and the liquid trickled from his mouth, he realized it was blood.
    Breathing was quickly becoming torture and he could have sworn there was
    someone standing on his chest. All he could do was watch in awe as guns gave
    off large, brief jets of flame as they sent bullets onwards to their intended
    targets. The sounds seemed so surreal and slow, strangely muffled and at times
    they echoed in his head. He smiled to himself as he heard the other cars pull
    up behind him, followed shortly by intensified gun fire. He had expected
    something like this and he was prepared. Yushitoko was a firm believer in
    paranoia being a virtue in this business.
    Time seemed to pass slowly. He didn't have a recounting of his life, he didn't
    see a white light or a bright tunnel approaching him; but he knew he didn't
    have long to go. The world around him was starting to darken, colors were
    changing and shifting to give the impression he was watching the world on
    a negative film. His chest erupted into flames at the slightest movement, his
    face was starting to go numb and his head felt like it was bobbing around in a
    bucket of water. As he was beginning to black out, he managed to catch one
    last glimpse of the battle field. Corpses lay strewn about him. No one was
    left standing, save for the short fat man slowly limping away with a badly
    disfigured suitcase. The man was obviously wounded, large patches of blood
    stained his brown suit and he was struggling to stay on his feet. Cursing,
    Yushitoko passed out.
    Asuka was currently walking slowly down a street staring blankly at her shoes
    as they rhythmically passed in and out of her vision. Her current objective was
    to disappear for a while so she could shrug off her falsified layers of strength
    and arrogance to wallow in a bit of self pity. It wasn't often she did this,
    as it was something she despised more than anything.
    Asuka wasn't one to ever give up on something she had begun. EVA was no
    exception as it was an integral part of her life. She had been trained to be
    an EVA pilot since her mother's death and therefore it was all she knew and had.
    It was also a good distraction to keep the darker memories at bay. But since
    things had been going bad, she started to realize she couldn't keep it up for
    much longer. Her failures began showing her the horrible truth that she may
    not be the person she thought she was, but she wasn't about to admit that to
    anyone, least of all herself.
    Suddenly she stopped as she saw a man stumbling round a corner in front of her.
    Her legs froze and worry overwhelmed her thoughts as she noticed the man's
    blood soaked clothing. Asuka was now faced with conflicting emotions, wanting
    to stay and help the man and at the same time she wanted to flee. Since her
    legs had decided to disobey her commands, she opted for the former.
    As the man drew closer to her, he looked up and smiled. "Ahh, this is your
    lucky day young lady." Shoving the suitcase out towards the girl, he
    collapsed to the ground.
    Asuka gasped as the case came into contact with her hands. Absently, she
    gripped the handle tightly and stared down at the man laying motionlessly
    on the ground. She jumped back as the man coughed up a small amount of blood.
    "Hey, are you ok?" Asuka asked, almost tempted to prod him with her foot.
    At that moment Shinji rounded the corner, feigning surprise to find Asuka.
    He instantly felt a rush of adrenaline as he noticed the body laying at Asuka's
    feet.
    "Asuka! Are you ok?" Shinji spoke with trepidation as he ran towards the girl.
    Snapping out of her daze, Asuka looked around quickly and frowned at the
    approaching boy. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you been following
    me?!"
    "W-What? No! I just went out for a walk." Looking down at the body and
    occasionally glancing at Asuka out of the corner of his eye, he resisted the
    urge to prod the body with his foot. "Who is this guy? Shouldn't we get him
    some help? Is he dead?" He immediately jumped back as the body stirred briefly,
    letting out another blood laced cough.
    "You kids, get outta here. Take that case, it should give you a bunch of fun.
    I'm done with this game." Coughing up some more blood, the man had a serene
    smile on his face as his eyes softened.
    Asuka and Shinji watched silently as the man's breathing slowed down, and then
    stopped. Deciding there was nothing they could do, except maybe prod the corpse
    with their feet, Shinji phoned for an ambulance as Asuka continued to stare at
    the body.
    ------
    As Asuka and Shinji stepped through the doorway to their apartment, they were
    greeted by a frantic penguin flapping its wings and letting lose an awful din
    of squawks. Shinji recognized the tone; this bird was hungry and he was mad.
    With Misato constantly at work and Asuka lacking any interest in the bird,
    Penpen had to rely solely on Shinji being there to feed him.
    Asuka watched Shinji go about the penguin feeding routine which he usually
    performed every day. She was still lost in a daze as being interrogated by
    police officers had been a daunting experience for the both of them. She had
    taken charge of the interview at times and scared several police officers, but
    she still felt worn out as the constant barrage of questions had left her brain
    feeling numb. A small smile crept across her face as she realized they still
    claimed the prize. After manufacturing a story about the suitcase belonging to
    her and giving a few menacing glares to the third child, he unwillingly became
    her accomplice in this act of deception. Patting the suitcase, she strode off
    towards the lounge room preparing to examine the contents.
    After the bird had been well fed and appeared to be content, Shinji solemnly
    walked towards the lounge room in hopes of being welcomed by a soft comfortable
    couch. He had been terrified during the police interview. Like a scared
    rabbit, his eyes bounced back and forth between the interrogators and Asuka, as
    one would be demanding answers and the other would be demanding allegiance.
    Shinji and Asuka had shared all the information they knew with the police
    officers and although they hadn't made a big deal over the case, he still felt
    the guilt; the paranoia that there were now going to be further inquiries and
    he was going to get found out. Asuka had coaxed him into playing along with
    her lie. At times, Shinji didn't know which he feared more out of the police
    or Asuka. Her body language was enough to beat him into submission.
    A strange thought occurred to him, causing him to pause his thoughts. One of
    the police officers had watched the suitcase at times, causing Shinji to panic
    as he thought the man would get up and open it. But for some reason, they had
    let Asuka take it. At the time he was too nervous to give it any extra
    thought, but now, it struck him as very odd. He was just glad they didn't get
    NERV involved, although, little to his knowledge and even the regular police
    officer, the local authorities were mostly run and owned by NERV.
    Upon entering the lounge room, he was not surprised to find Asuka sitting on
    the floor with the suitcase in front of her. She scratched her head and
    frowned at the case.
    "Probably thinking of how to shout it open" he muttered to himself bitterly.
    Shinji deliberately fell back into the couch, enjoying the feeling of the brief
    free fall and rush of wind. Plunging into the cushions, he shifted a little to
    get into a comfortable position, then began searching the many crevices of the
    couch for the remote control. Both children now mirrored each others quizzical
    looks.
    After several minutes of mutual frustrated grunting, Asuka stood up and gave
    the case a kick. She looked over towards her fellow puzzle solver. "Hey
    idiot. Give me a hand with this."
    Much to the annoyance of Asuka, he took several moments to respond as he was
    still engrossed with his search for the television remote.
    "Huh?"
    "Go find something to pry this open with!"
    "What? Why should I? Your the one that wanted to keep it. I can't believe you
    lied to the police for it!"
    "Oh come on. That guy gave me this case, you saw that. Made it sound like
    there was something good inside, don't ya think? Aren't you even a little
    curious?"
    "No! You made me lie! I can't belie-"
    Asuka thrust her hands onto her hips and shouted "Oh shut up! Why do you have
    to be so moralistic about everything! God, after all we do for this city,
    don't you think we deserve a little fun? When was the last time you did
    anything you enjoyed!?"
    Briefly, Shinji recalled a memory of a kiss he had shared with Asuka, but he
    did not mention this to the girl, as he feared for his life. He was still
    confused by the event, and her motive, unsure if she actually liked him or if
    it had just been a cruel trick. It had been quite painful to endure, as the
    girl had held his nose tightly shut, rendering him unable to breath. But he
    held out for as long as he could. Although he was hurt by her claiming disgust
    at the kiss, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The warmth he felt from the
    close proximity to her face, the extra detail of her features he was able to
    observe, her warm breath brushing lightly across his cheek and the contact of
    her soft lips; it harassed his mind constantly and he couldn't help but enjoy
    the experience, even if it wasn't without some pain.
    "Ummm. I don't know." He lied.
    "See? So, let's open it up. Might have a load of drugs in it, wouldn't that be
    fun?!"
    "Asuka!"
    "I'm kidding, jeez. You're really boring you know." Rolling her eyes, she
    looked down at the case. "I bet it's money anyway."
    About an hour later, Shinji watched as the lid was finally starting to move.
    Asuka had the case wedged tightly between her legs, holding it firmly to keep
    it still as she continued to pry at it with the metal bar. Shinji noted for a
    moment that it seemed the case was currently the luckiest object in the world,
    but then feeling ashamed, he started thinking about Angels and Evangelions to
    take his mind off his impure thoughts and to chase off the blush that was
    quickly forming on his cheeks.
    With a loud crack, the lid of the case snapped open and the bar Asuka had been
    using went flying out of her hands. Quickly removing her leg from the top
    of the case to allow it to fully open, she grabbed the sides of the case and
    gazed upon its contents.
    "Yes! So. What..... Oh. My. God!"
    Asuka's eyes widened as she took in the beautiful sight of hundreds of tightly
    bound wads of cash. Running her finger along the edges of the notes, a large
    grin appeared on her face accompanied by a twinkle in her eye.
    "Shinji. There has got to be, I don't know how much, but its allot. I mean, a
    hell of allot. My god. We're rich!"
    Noticing a lack of response from her lesser partner in fortune, she turned
    around to determine why he wasn't shrieking like a little school girl, as she
    had anticipated. There lying on the ground unconscious was the third child
    with the thin slab of metal lying next to his head. It didn't take her long to
    deduce the reasons behind his lack of consciousness, after she noticed the small
    trickle of blood coming from a small cut to the boys forehead. Feeling a
    little panicked, she reached out to grab his hand, but upon seeing that he was
    still breathing and emitting a small groan, she shrugged and went back to
    counting the money.
    ------
    "Ohhhh, my head." Shinji lightly rubbed the sore spot on his head as he slowly
    followed Asuka down a pathway through the city. Looking up at her, he noticed
    she seemed very happy, and although seeing her smile brought a sense of comfort
    to him, he still wondered if she had a conscience. "Asuka, what are you going
    to do with the money?"
    "I already told you, we're putting it into the bank. Idiot!" She looked over
    her shoulder. "Come on, hurry up!"
    Shinji flinched as she yelled at him. "Ahh! Don't yell at me so loud. My
    head really hurts Asuka." Gripping his head a little tighter to try and keep
    it from bursting, he gave the ground a pleading look and began to walk a little
    faster, trying to express his pain and disinterest in their venture with every
    step.
    "Don't be such a baby. It was just a little smack to the head. Now, listen. I
    have a brilliant idea that will save us so much work and give us time to do
    allot of other fun stuff. I'm still pissed at missing the school trip." She
    smiled brightly. "We could have our own trip to Okinawa."
    It took Shinji a little while to figure out what the girl was saying, as she
    had spoken so fast and without pause. He began to wonder if there had indeed
    been drugs inside the case. Once his mind had interpreted the onslaught of
    words, he was surprised. Shinji thought the girl would never consider anything
    else more interesting than piloting her EVA and battling Angels. Rubbing his
    throbbing head a little more, he couldn't help but feel a little curious. He
    didn't want to pilot the EVA's, he had even tried to run away several times.
    Any idea of getting out of piloting had to be a good thing, so with some
    reluctance and fear, he decided to go along with her plans.
    "What did you have in mind?" he asked with as much hesitation as possible.
    Smiling brightly, which inadvertently caused Shinji's muscles to liquefy and
    spawned a hoard of rampaging butterflies within his stomach, Asuka replied.
    "You'll see." Stopping outside of a large building, she nodded to Shinji and
    then to the building. "This is it."
    Almost skipping through the door, she grabbed the boys hand and dragged him
    along, causing him to trip several times as they entered the quiet room. Guilt
    began to seep back into Shinji's body as he saw the large overweight security
    guard watching the pair. Having second thoughts, he tugged on Asuka's hand.
    Slapping his hand away, Asuka instantly realized the folly of her ignorance.
    "You! Keep your hands off me!"
    "But. But you-"
    She quickly silenced him with a light smack across the head, igniting several
    tons of explosives within his skull. The girl knew she had done wrong as she
    watched him fall to the ground, clutching at his head. Briefly she felt
    regret, but instantly recovered. "Get up and stop causing a scene!"
    "Mghhphhhh!" He spluttered from the floor, rocking back and forth.
    Rolling her eyes, she joined the queue for the bank tellers. Looking around,
    she was overwhelmed with boredom at the bland aesthetics of the bank. The
    carpet was a light shade of blue and felt thin and solid under her feat. The
    smooth rounded contours of the benches rendered them indistinguishable from the
    walls. Even the employees matched the apathetic theme. The bank tellers all
    donned horribly boring grey jackets and looked uninterested with everything
    they were doing and everything the customer had to say. Customers were filing
    in, and filing out, barely uttering a word except for a simple request.
    Yawning, her eyes began to feel heavy. Looking behind her, she noticed her
    roommate dragging himself up off the floor which brought a new train careening
    through her current stagnant set of thoughts. Events of the day had certainly
    changed things. This morning, she was outright ignoring Shinji, like she had
    been doing allot lately. Asuka was adamantly going out of her way to make sure
    he knew she didn't want anything to do with him. Lately, he had really been
    getting on her nerves; the way he captivated everyone else's attention without
    trying, the way he ignored her when she would tease him, the way he made her
    look so weak and useless at piloting an Evangelion. Deep down somewhere, there
    was a hope that it was just temporary. She found him amusing at times, fun to
    tease and sometimes even his company did appeal to her. But since things
    started falling apart again, any chances of a friendship quickly diminished as
    she put her vicious defenses on high alert. However, that hope had been
    rewarded a little since the case. It was a distraction she needed.
    Something had gone right for Asuka and she remembered what it was like when she
    was happy. It changed her perspective on things substantially, plainly showing
    her how silly it was to mope around and that it was quite easy to be happy.
    Her feelings of self loathing, that Shinji and many others suffered for, were
    silenced for now, all thanks to the bundle of joy attached to her arm. It
    wasn't the thought of what she would spend the money on, or the fact that she
    was rich. Simply, it was the fact that after all the recent things going
    wrong, something had turned to her favor, which meant that it could happen
    again.
    "Next."
    Even though the voice was plain and monotonous, it startled Asuka from her dream
    state. Glancing over at the source of the voice, she strode with strong
    determination towards the bank teller.
    "I'd like to make a deposit please." Asuka beamed at the older woman behind the
    glass.
    The woman regarded Asuka and her case indignantly. As Asuka lifted the case
    lid, her eyes widened. "Is this some kind of joke?"
    Asuka, being a very intelligent fourteen year old, expected this "No, its not
    a joke. We're from NERV." She quickly handed over her identification card to
    give the woman proof.
    Nodding, the woman took the case from her. "You want this deposited to your
    account?"
    "Nah, put a quarter of it into jerk faces account." A quick gesture with her
    thumb indicated she was referring to Shinji, who was now standing behind
    her "Go on, give her your card!"
    Shinji reluctantly handed his card over to the woman. Glancing from the card to
    the boy several times, she placed it on top of Asuka's card and picked up a
    phone beside her. "This will just take a moment."
    Asuka nodded. Her vision wandered about the room, staring vacantly around the
    bank as the lady spoke quietly into the phone. Suddenly, she was aware of a
    man standing beside her. Looking over, she became a little nervous as she
    noticed he was dressed in a sharp black suit. Her fears were alleviated when
    she saw the flower sticking out of his jacket pocket, and the smile the man had
    on display.
    "Please madam and sir, if you will follow me."
    They were led into a large room filled with expensive looking furniture.
    Several leather couches circling a low glass table sat on top of a large,
    extravagantly patterned rug. About the rim of the table were deeply set
    computer terminals each giving access to the bank's online services. A large
    screen hung from a wall as it gave the latest financial news and the current
    share prices flowed along the bottom of the screen. About the television sat
    several high ferns in clear glass pots, set low into the shiny wooden floor. As
    if to help the plants counter the technological theme of this room, several old
    and expensive paintings adorned the walls.
    "Please, make yourselves comfortable here while we process your deposit. Feel
    free to let me know if there's anything I can get you while you wait, and we
    thank you for your business." The man bowed and walked out of the room.
    "Wonder what this room is for?" Asuka muttered to herself.
    Shinji instantly sat down on a couch rubbing his head as it throbbed angrily at
    him. Like most times when he was surrounded with silence and nothing to keep
    his mind busy, he began thinking about the angels again. The last angel attack
    was interesting, to say the least. Shinji had tried to run away, but when he
    saw the decapitated Evangelion belonging to Asuka, followed by Rei's selfless
    kamikaze style attack, he found a new resolve to return and fight harder than
    he had ever fought before, even if it meant hurting others. Following in his
    mother's footsteps, Shinji had been absorbed during this battle when his
    Evangelion went berserk. Unlike his mother though, he had returned a month
    later. To him, the time spent in his state of questionable existence was over
    in an instant, like going to sleep and waking from a dream. The only things
    he could remember were emotions, and a particular scent that seemed very
    familiar.
    Asuka wandered about the room, running her finger along the frames of several
    paintings, vacantly examining their shapes and colors.
    "Shinji, you have always wanted to leave NERV, haven't you?" Asuka tried to
    use as little emotion possible in the question, but it was such a personal
    topic that he couldn't help but feel she was suddenly digging into his soul.
    Slowly, he masticated her question with a grim determination to compose a
    response that lacked stupidity. "I guess". He mentally kicked himself
    hard at his failure.
    "Oh come on. You have run away a few times now, haven't you?" As he nodded
    slowly, avoiding her gaze, she folded her arms and continued "Your father is
    an asshole, you almost killed your best friend-" Noticing the pained
    expression developing on his face, she rolled her eyes and spoke louder,
    quickly interrupting any depressing thoughts that were forming "Not that it was
    your fault! Stupid. And you were stuck inside your EVA for a month! Don't you
    get sick of being messed up like this all the time?"
    Shinji's gaze remained transfixed on the floor as his face was overcome with
    sadness. He suddenly looked like a child who had just been caught drawing on a
    wall with crayons.
    "Well, I'll let you know my plan to get us out of piloting for a while ok? I
    will need your help to pull it off, so you get to be part of it too. What do
    you say?"
    "Umm, Asuka?" Slowly, he raised his head up and looked at her with eyes that
    were still hinting at some sadness, but were also slowly becoming curious.
    "Why don't you want to pilot anymore? I thought-"
    Asuka quickly cut him off. "Are you in, or not?!"
    Taking a moment to try and figure out what she could be hiding, he decided her
    reasons to be beyond his comprehension, so he threw any further queries out the
    window. "Fine"
    Asuka smiled proudly, infecting Shinji with a small, yet nervous smile of his
    own. "Right, lets go over a few things."
    ------
    "You have got to be joking. Dummy plugs, based on you two?" Dr. Ritsuko was
    on the verge of calling security and having the two children tossed out into
    the streets. Things had been going bad for the woman lately. With her lover
    paying her very little attention, she was distracted from her work. Even her
    best friend had been nagging at her, trying to pry secrets that kept her own
    job and life safe. Her lack of sleep also added to the stress, so furiously
    stubbing out her cigarette into an overflowing ash tray, the woman glared at
    the children.
    "Look, I shouldn't even be having this conversation with you kids. And just
    where did you get that kind of information? What makes you think dummy plugs
    are based on anyone?"
    Asuka frowned a little. "I've read all about them and how they work. It was
    within my security clearance. You transfer personalities to them right? We
    want you to use ours."
    Ritsuko sighed lightly. She had forgotten about the falsified reports on that
    particular technology that they had released for their own personnel to read
    after the last terrible incident involving the dummy plug system.
    "Well, what the hell do you think this is. If we could just make dummy plugs
    to pilot EVA, don't you think we would have done it by now? I mean, you saw
    what happened with the prototype." She gave Shinji a look, which she regretted
    as she saw the pain laying openly on his face.
    Shinji had been strongly against Asuka's plan. The instant she mentioned dummy
    plugs to replace them as pilots, he became so livid with anger he was barely
    able to continue the conversation. Asuka had convinced him by mentioning that
    if it were their own personalities in the dummy plugs, they would be more
    humane towards their targets, instead of the monster that was unleashed that
    day and almost destroyed Shinji's friend, Touji Suzahara.
    "Look, I am not going to dignify this preposterous request with any further
    discussion. You two, get out." Pointing at the doorway, Ritsuko's attention
    was suddenly caught by the small case Asuka had quickly placed in front of her.
    "What's this?"
    "A little incentive?" Asuka wasn't totally unfamiliar with bribery. Having
    never actually tried with money before, the concepts were not foreign. After
    all, she had managed to get a host of boys to submit to her will many times in
    the past. She saw it as the same equation, with her beauty replaced by the
    briefcase, and the boys substituted with a very suspicious scientist.
    Opening the case up, Ritsuko's eyes widened in wonder at the small hoard of
    cash before her.
    "What-" She paused her sentence to pick up a wad of cash, turning it over
    in her hand, scrutinizing it with all her powers of suspicion and paranoia.
    "Asuka, what the hell is this. Where did you kids get this money from?"
    Asuka didn't hesitate with her lie. "A relative just passed away and I
    received allot of money as my inheritance."
    Ritsuko blinked as the doubt renewed itself in her mind. Although she
    was oblivious to most things going on with the rest of the world due to
    her obsessive devotion to her job, she knew that money wasn't really all
    that common amongst the general public. After second impact, the population
    had been cut by several billion and hence, there weren't many people to make
    money off anymore. Of course, she knew there were a few exceptions to the
    rule.
    Ritsuko tried to sound as doubtful as possible. "Really?"
    Asuka simply nodded. Shinji remained silent, fidgeting with a shirt button.
    Ritsuko could have sworn he had moved closer to the door since she last looked
    at him. For a brief moment, Ritsuko thought she might actually check into
    Asuka's lineage, but after thinking about how little she got paid for how much
    she was doing at NERV, that information quickly became irrelevant.
    Staring at the money, it seemed to fill her vision, the surrounding images
    replaced with darkness and then being padded out by the recurring pattern of
    the notes. Suddenly, the realization hit her. Ritsuko hated her job. She
    felt like she was just being used in her current position and her treatment
    by the Commander as a side mistress was infuriating. Before her now lay the
    ticket out of here to enjoy the remainder of her life, even if it were to be
    shortened by the commander's plans. As images of herself sitting on a beach
    somewhere far away crossed her mind, her resolve strengthened.
    Calling Ritsuko a genius was an insult to the woman. Her mental capacity was
    immeasurable, her ability to look at a situation and come up with a solution -
    that sometimes seemed so absurd that it didn't belong in a cartoon - was
    uncanny. Before her lay just another problem. It was obvious to her what
    Asuka and Shinji were asking for. This particular puzzle was a trivial matter
    compared with other things she was faced with in her line of work, so quickly
    putting together a small abstract plan, she nodded to the pair.
    "I have just the thing. We can forget about the dummy plugs." Although, she
    was amused at the similarity between the two ideas which no one else was aware
    of. "I hope you two don't hold too strongly to those old ethics on cloning or
    soul synthesis." Not usually one to have a problem with self confidence when
    it came to her work, Ritsuko felt strangely uncomfortable. The ideas were so
    simple to her, but they had never been attempted due to a lack of funds for
    research filed under 'other'.
    Asuka's mind slowly worked away as she frowned hard at the floor, trying to
    contemplate the doctors not too subtle hint. It didn't take her long to
    realize what she was insinuating. Shinji just heard the word ethics and
    decided he would rather stick to the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'. His
    objections at participating in their plans were renewed as he saw the grins on
    the two women, who now appeared before him as witches plotting his own moral
    demise.
    "You mean you can actually do that? But, wouldn't that take years or
    something?" Asuka spoke with clear disappointment.
    Ritsuko took a mouthful of coffee before replying. "Not necessarily. I
    have a few... things I have already been working on. I could have some ready
    in a week or so."
    "That would be great!"
    "Right." Taking another look at the cash and rubbing the wad of notes in her
    hand, she nodded. "I accept. But, I need to get a few things straight with
    you two first. This conversation never took place. You have never given me any
    money. If anyone comes asking anything about me, you claim ignorance. And do
    not ask me any questions about anything. The less you know, the easier this
    will be to pull off." Watching with a concerned look, she nodded after
    deciding they had absorbed her words long enough.
    "Come with me, lets get started"
    ------
    Asuka groaned loudly "We've been walking forever! How much further is it?"
    Ritsuko took her glasses off and gently rubbed her eyes. Asuka's constant
    nagging had been gnawing on her frayed nerves and were verging on breaking
    through the surface to receive a nasty shock. Forcing down the mounting
    tension yet again, she sighed. "Not far."
    "Hmmph, that's what you said 3 hours ago" Asuka glared at the back of the
    woman's head, hoping it may have an effect on the woman to either extract
    the truth, or to hurry her up.
    Shinji looked up to see why the pair had stopped. He felt a little nervous
    as Ritsuko tapped a combination into a keypad beside a door in front of them.
    Any time they passed a camera, Shinji couldn't help but feel that he was being
    watched. The blue and red lights in some corridors appeared to him as police
    lights and he was constantly expecting to be arrested.
    "Finally!" Asuka said, as the door slid open.
    Stepping inside, the three were engulfed in stuffy darkness, which was further
    made uncomfortable as the door closed behind them. Shinji noted the air was
    musty and stale, but there was a vague odor that resembled LCL. Suddenly,
    dull orange lights flickered to life in various locations about the room,
    followed by an assortment of computer screens flashing login prompts. Cables,
    tubes and circuit boards littered the floors and benches. It was the large
    object in the center that captured their attention the most. There before them
    was a large cylindrical tube, standing vertically. It appeared large enough to
    contain a small adult and was filled with liquid that looked like LCL. Above
    the tube were attached many large pipes that trailed off in various directions
    to be absorbed by the ceiling. Along the walls were several similar tubes, but
    the attachments were smaller and less in number, except for several larger
    pipes around the base, which the central tube had lacked.
    "What is this place?" Shinji had been the first to break the silence.
    Ritsuko looked up at him from the computer she was working feverishly at.
    "This is just one of my experimental labs. Allot of cloning technology
    was started here, but we don't use it much anymore." She didn't bother
    to mention the production lab that was deeper down within NERV headquarters.
    Realizing he was getting no further responses from the woman, his eyes
    began to wander about the room again. Looking over to his side, he noticed
    Asuka was silently doing the same.
    "Ok, now this is going to take a little while." Ritsuko took her glasses
    off and began to rub them with her lab coat. "First, Asuka, take off your
    clothes."
    The instant she finished speaking, Asuka's face went bright red. "What the
    hell is it with you guys wanting to get us naked?! It's sick!" Folding her
    arms and closing her eyes, she turned her nose up and away from Shinji "He
    better not be looking! Can't he wait outside or something?"
    Sighing as she put her glasses back on, and having her desires to never have
    children reaffirmed, she replied impatiently "Yes yes. Shinji, wait outside.
    I'll come and get you when its your turn".
    "Ok" Shinji slowly walked out of the room and stood next to the closing door,
    leaning up against the wall. Fear struck him as he thought about his father
    discovering their plan. His conviction to help Asuka was beginning to waiver
    as the paranoid thoughts of all the possible negative outcomes sat burning
    inside his head.
    After both children had taken turns at being put inside the tube while Ritsuko
    ran a series of commands through several computers, they were ushered out
    towards the exit. All three appeared a little nervous every time a guard
    passed them, or each time they would spot a camera in the ceiling.
    "Right, I'll call back as soon as they are ready. As long as there are no
    angel attacks between now and then, it shouldn't take too long. Some of these
    techniques are a little experimental, and the materials.... Never mind, just
    get out of here and do not talk to anyone about this. I mean this very
    seriously when I say, your lives and mine could be in danger if any of this
    were to slip."
    Ritsuko watched the pair leave. Frowning, she realized how much extra work
    she had just created for herself and how dangerous it was going to be. Her
    hand's dropped into her pockets as she decided it would all be worth it with
    the amount of money currently sitting in her office. It had been a relatively
    easy decision to make, as she had been feeling rather apathetic towards NERV
    and her assigned projects lately. Her desires to do something drastic to make
    a point or to expose some of the commanders secrets were going to be fulfilled
    and she would be making a profit out of it too. "Ha, bastard. This is going
    to be perfect. You're going to regret choosing her over me."
    ------
    Misato Katusragi slumped against the steering wheel of her car as its engine
    became silent. She let out a small groan as the silence and lack of movement
    inside the car seemed to magnify the fatigue she was feeling, bringing about a
    ringing in her ears. Spending several minutes like this, she finally got out
    of her car and slowly walked towards the elevator towards her apartment, until
    a familiar black car caught her attention off in the distance.
    "What are they doing here?" She muttered to herself as she altered her
    direction and began a brisk pace towards the car.
    As she got close to the vehicle, she noticed it was empty and both of the doors
    were open. Stopping abruptly and frowning, she retrieved a gun from under her
    jacket and started glancing about. Spotting something, she ran towards a patch
    of dense grass and stopped as she came upon a body dressed in a black suit,
    wearing black glasses. The man's neck had been cut in a neat arc that went
    right around the front, just below his chin.
    "Damn. Who would want...Shit! The children!"
    Frantically, Misato ran back towards the apartment and took the stairs up to
    her floor. Noticing the door to her unit was shut, she cursed as she
    fumbled through her pockets for her swipe card. Finally locating it, she
    ran the card through the slot by the door. The sound from the electronic
    devices disposed of any chances of a furtive entrance, so she ran without
    hesitation into the apartment, quickly checking around corners for would be
    attackers.
    The first door she stopped at belonged to Shinji. Standing still for a brief
    moment to compose herself and steady her gun, she slammed the door open and
    stepped into the room with her gun drawn and ready to fire.
    Shinji had heard the front door open and since he didn't hear anyone call out,
    he had grown a little nervous. When the door was thrown open and the gun
    wielding woman stepped in, his first reaction had been to back up into the
    corner on his bed where he had been laying.
    Shinji panicked. "I'm sorry! You can have it back, I didn't... I... Misato?"
    Breathing a sigh of relief, Misato lowered her gun.
    "Sorry. Where's Asuka?" Misato began hurriedly walking out of the room, but
    lingered as she awaited a response from the boy.
    "She's in her room I think. Or out with Hikari again. I'm not sure."
    "Shit." Misato quickly ran to Asuka's room.
    Slamming her door open, Misato quickly stepped into Asuka's room and was
    instantly relieved to see the girl laying on her bed reading a magazine.
    Without looking up, Asuka spoke calmly while flipping a page in her magazine
    roughly. "Oh, please come in Misato. Don't worry about knocking."
    "What's going on Misato?" Shinji spoke timidly from behind the woman. Slowly,
    he took a step into the girls room to see what the woman was so excited about.
    "Don't mind me you guys, just make yourselves at home. It is just my room."
    Anger was starting to build up in the red haired girl as the intruders were
    failing to register the sarcasm she was laying on as thickly as she could.
    Slamming the magazine shut, she glared at the pair. "Idiots! What are you
    doing in my room?!"
    Misato spoke as she left the room hurriedly. "Something's happened kids. I
    need to make a phone call."
    Quickly dialing a number, Misato paced around her room as the phone rang.
    Pausing a moment, she stared sadly at the answering machine sitting on her desk
    that still contained a single message. It never failed to bring about the
    stinging sensation from the threat of tears.
    Misato's concentration turned back to the phone call she was attempting to
    make as she heard a click, followed by a deep monotonous voice. "Section 2."
    "This is Major Katsuragi. What the hell are you guys doing?! We have one man
    down by my apartment and he's from your section. I don't know the location of
    the his partner, but I need extra men down here right away."
    "Status of the attackers?"
    "Unknown. I didn't see anyone. We will need to beef up security on the
    children right away, this could have been an attempt on their lives."
    "Backup is on the way."
    Breathing out again to relief some of the tension, Misato made one last demand
    before hanging up. "I want no less than four men on guard, twenty four hour
    watch, ok? Bye."
    "Misato? What's going on?" Shinji stood in her doorway, looking a little
    confused.
    Misato started to question the worth of letting Shinji know about the death
    of a security guard outside their apartment. Her feelings were that he was
    under enough stress as it is, so she considered just keeping it a secret from
    the boy. It was a tough choice for the woman though, as it was the secrets
    she had kept from Shinji that were tearing at the thinning strands of their
    relationship.
    "Someone from section 2 got hurt. I'm not sure who did it, but it wasn't
    good."
    "Oh. Are they ok?"
    The silence from the woman was enough of a response for him. "Oh."
    "Listen Shinji, you guys need to be careful. I don't know who did that, but
    just keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary, and don't do anything
    stupid."
    "Like that's hard for him to do." Asuka rudely interrupted the conversation,
    barging into the room and pushing past Shinji. "So, what's going on. Why are
    you running around waving your gun at teenagers?"
    "Someone killed an agent outside." As Misato finished her sentence, Asuka's
    eyes widened a little. "We're going to step up security a bit. I have no
    idea what's going on, but you kids need to be careful."
    "What ever." Asuka began leaving the room.
    "Asuka, this is serious. Someone is dead!"
    Once the area had been searched and the guard's took up their new positions,
    Misato walked back into the apartment and groaned. "God, more paper work.
    There is just no end to it. Kids, I'm going to do some work in my room."
    With that, Misato stepped into her room and shut the door behind her.
    "May as well get a little sleep first." She muttered. Falling face forward
    onto the bed, she let out a long sigh as she closed her eyes and went to
    sleep.
    ------
    Asuka had found it difficult to restrain herself from spending recklessly with
    her money, but she and Shinji had agreed to keep their new found wealth a
    secret, mainly to keep any unwanted attention at bay while they were involved
    with Ritsuko and the cloning plan, especially now that section two were
    watching them closely. Regardless of their agreement, Asuka had been spoiling
    herself quite often when she knew no one was watching. She went out
    occasionally for an expensive meal, sometimes taking Hikari along and telling
    her it was Misato's payment for being such a good pilot. Her wardrobe was
    bulging dangerously, but she hardly wore her new clothing, feeling it would
    definately give her away. Shinji's constant battle with his conscience was put
    on hold momentarily when he managed to subdue the nagging voice long enough to
    purchase a new album for his SDAT player.
    Asuka tapped her foot impatiently, the look on her face was mixed between
    excitement and annoyance. Shinji stood silently next to her, staring at the
    floor of the dark passage. A low humming sound of equipment hidden away within
    the depths of the NERV base could be heard, which Shinji found strangely
    unsettling. He was still waiting for the police to come and take him away and
    charge him for grand theft.
    "Ok, come in."
    Asuka instantly jumped through the doorway and gasped as she saw herself
    floating motionlessly in a tube. Besides having shorter hair than Asuka, the
    clone was a perfect match. Continuing to scrutinize the Dr's handy work, she
    noted their figures were identical; legs, arms, shoulders, breasts. The last
    realization hit her like a brick against the head and she quickly reacted by
    jumping on Shinji, knocking him to the floor as she slapped her hand over his
    eyes.
    "They're naked!" Asuka shouted at Ritsuko.
    "Hey, get off me! I wasn't looking" Shinji squirmed under the girls weight,
    but his efforts were futile. "Mine is naked too you know!"
    Asuka had already noticed this and was still noticing as she absently punched
    the boy in the arm. "You better not stare at her, you pervert!"
    "I promise, now get off me please?"
    Ritsuko shook her head as she watched the pair get up off the floor. Both
    seemed to be concealing a blush. "Kids" she muttered to herself.
    "Right, now help me get them out and onto the tables."
    "What!? You're not thinking of letting this pervert get his hands all over my
    body are you?" Asuka was glaring furiously at the blond woman.
    "Asuka. Could you please just stop acting like a-" Ritsuko rolled her eyes
    and began walking towards the tube containing Asuka's clone. "Never mind. Just
    come over here and help me will you? Shinji-" Pausing her steps and frowning,
    she took a few seconds to consider the red heads requests "Push that table over
    here. And avert your eyes or something, ok?"
    Shinji nodded and slowly began pushing a silver table on wheels towards the
    tube. He was taking every precaution to ensure he didn't catch sight of the
    naked Asuka floating in the orange liquid. It took allot of willpower, but the
    thoughts of what she would do to him helped. Seeking a distraction, he began
    examining the shiny metallic table he was pushing. Attached to its side were
    several electronic devices and poles. Swinging gently from the tops of the
    poles were several bags filled with various liquids. Each had a small tube
    which trailed down the attached pole and came to an end on the table. Shinji
    was no stranger to this type of equipment, as he often woke up amongst the same
    devices after each Angel attack.
    A loud swooshing sound permeated the air as the LCL was drained out of the
    tube, causing the body to slump to the bottom of the tube with a wet thud.
    Ritsuko tapped carelessly away on another computer, causing the glass
    surrounding the body to recede into the floor. Finally, she walked over and
    examined the unconscious girl. Asuka stood perfectly still as she watched the
    doctor examine the pale, limp body.
    "Is...Is she dead?" Asuka whispered.
    After poking at the body with several instruments, Dr. Akagi propped the
    unconscious girl up into a sitting position. Asuka immediately walked over,
    trying to stand in between the naked girl and Shinji. She was entranced by the
    girl before her, wondering what she would be like when awake. It felt eerily
    surreal to watch; she felt a little detached from the scene as she watched the
    doctor handling what looked like her own corpse.
    "She's fine. Now, grab her legs and lets get her up onto the table."
    With that, they both effortlessly hauled the girl up and onto the table.
    Several minutes passed as the doctor attached many cables and tubes to the
    clone. Meanwhile, Asuka located a large green sheet from underneath the table
    and covered up the naked girl's more sensitive areas. She was still lost for
    words and had a look of awe on her face as she continued to watch.
    "What will she be like?" Asuka inquired.
    Ritsuko was heavily engrossed in her work and took a few moments to respond.
    "Well, I didn't do a very thorough transfer. They will only recollect recent
    memories. Deeper, subconscious areas of the mind are a bit trickier and
    require allot of time. So, it will be just memories that you two have been
    experiencing over the last few years, as a rough guess. There is no real way to
    tell, until they wake up. It's not an exact science."
    Connecting a few more cables to devices strewn about the area, Ritsuko
    continued. "For a while, these two will be very." Pausing, she glanced at
    the ceiling as if it would give her the words she sought. " They could be
    very emotional. Well, I mean. They are loaded with hormones at the moment,
    so they will probably be a little hard to control at times."
    Asuka frowned as she pondered the implications of the Doctor's words. Ritsuko
    leaned over the unconscious girl and flicked a series of switches, then brought
    out a syringe filled with a clear liquid.
    "Right, here we go. Asuka, get ready to hold her down."
    Slowly, she brought the needle up to a tube attached to the girls chest.
    Ritsuko flicked a switch, causing the girls body to spasm a little as she
    inserted the needle into the end of the tube. She closed her eyes and grimaced
    as she sent the clear liquid on its way to the girls blood stream.
    "Hope this works" she thought silently to herself as she depressed a switch on
    one of the devices hooked up to the girl.
    Suddenly, the girl woke up with a loud, drawn out gasp for air. Asuka panicked
    and slammed her back down onto the gurney with unintentional force. Realizing
    what she had done, Asuka put a hand to her mouth as she watched the clone stare
    at the roof, motionless.
    "Did I kill her?" she whispered.
    Ritsuko was busy typing in a series of commands into a nearby terminal. Looking
    up at the equipment, she shook her head in response. Shinji was currently
    pleading with a patch of wall to hold his attention and thus save him from the
    girls wrath. Asuka wasn't paying him an ounce of attention however, she was
    still gaping at the catatonic girl and hoping it wasn't broken.
    Asuka let out a small yelp as the eyes she had been staring into blinked.
    Ritsuko quickly came across to the table and began adjusting a clamp on one of
    the tubes attached to the girls arms. Slowly, the doctor took her hands away
    from all of the equipment, and watched as her creation gained consciousness.
    Slowly, the pale girl's eyes began blinking and turning about in their sockets,
    testing their limits and trying to focus on the ceiling. Moments later, the
    female clone's head began to turn about awkwardly, as though it were trying to
    roll away.
    Ritsuko noticed the curious look on Asuka's face. "They may be a little stupid
    at first. But it won't take long for them to learn things." She added a silent
    prayer that this wouldn't turn out to be a lie.
    Shinji could no longer contain his curiosity. Deciding he would just take a
    small peek at the events taking place behind him. A little fear crossed his
    mind as he saw the girl struggling to move. Small gurgling sounds escaped her
    mouth as her head was still slowly turning back and forth with eyes rolling
    back into her head every now and again.
    "What the hell is this? I didn't pay you good money to create a couple of
    retards!" Asuka had now lost her interest in the clone and was staring
    murderously at Ritsuko.
    "Asuka, calm down. I am sure that her brain is functional. The readings
    I am getting show some fairly standard activity." Ritsuko tapped a monitor with
    her pen. "Just give her some more time." Sighing to herself, Ritsuko was a
    little worried. The technology she had based her experiment on was
    experimental itself. It was a miracle she had even gotten this to work at all,
    and being the paranoid type, this concerned her. She wasn't totally sure how
    it would turn out in the long run, but she was certain that problems would have
    to show up sooner or later. Especially if the Commander found out, which she
    knew was just a matter of time.
    "While she is waking up, lets get Shinji's clone up and going."
    Minutes later, the same process was repeated for the male figure floating in
    the liquid filled tube. Asuka's attention was focused solely on her clone as
    Ritsuko and Shinji worked on a separate table to revive the unconscious boy.
    "Whhhhheerrr."
    All heads instantly locked onto the source of the noise. The female clone had
    sat up and was currently struggling to speak.
    "Whhherrrreee. Am." Finding it difficult to continue, she slowly tapped
    herself on the chest and shivered slightly.
    It took Asuka several moments to get over the initial shock, until she finally
    spoke "Your in a lab. Don't worry, we will be out of here soon. As soon as
    moron and his stupid clone are done."
    Shinji looked down at his clone, who was currently trying to form different
    shapes with his mouth. Every now and again a sound would escape, but no words
    were coming yet.
    "Well, its obvious these clones take after their originals. See how smart mine
    is? And Shinji's hasn't even worked out how to sit up yet! Ha!"
    "Shinnnnji?" The clone turned her head and was now staring intently at the pair
    of boys. The sheet that had been covering her fell down, revealing her upper
    body. Blushing, Asuka quickly covered her back over. Ritsuko chuckled as she
    saw Shinji quickly look away and blush.
    Narrowing her eyes at Shinji, Asuka spoke to her clone "Yeh, that's him. But
    you can call him idiot."
    Asuka became a little nervous as a faint smile began forming on the naked
    girl's mouth. She became furious the longer her clone continued to stare at
    the boy. Quickly, she snapped her fingers in front of her face.
    "Hey! I was talking to you." Once she had the girls attention, Asuka crossed
    her arms and spoke with a haughty air. "Now look. We have to get out of here
    soon, so you better figure out how to walk, ok?"
    "Asuka? Sorry?"
    Both Asuka and Dr Akagi were stunned as they turned their heads towards the
    pair of boys. It wasn't Shinji who had spoken, but Shinji's clone.
    "What the hell?! His spoke much quicker than mine! Great, you really did give
    mine a mental disorder, didn't you! Is this because of that time I hid your
    cigarettes?"
    "Asuka, I told you. They are both perfectly healthy. It just looks like
    Shinji's has remembered how to speak allot quicker than yours."
    "Shinji?" the red haired clone again began staring over at the boys.
    "Stop staring and stop saying his name. You call him Ideeeeot! Ok?"
    "No. It is Shinji." She shook her head slowly.
    "Well, at least their memory seems in order." Ritsuko said brightly, with a
    smirk present on her face.
    "Arggh!" Asuka balled her fists up as her face went red with anger.
    Ritsuko chuckled to herself and began attaching a system of cables with pins on
    the ends to clones' arms and legs.
    "What's this for?" both Shinji and Asuka asked in unison.
    The clones merely watched the pins being pushed through their skin, not showing
    any hint of discomfort.
    "Just going to give their muscles a little more incentive to move." Pressing
    a switch, Shinji gasped as he saw his clone's leg spasm. "Don't worry, this
    process isn't anything new to them. I used a similar procedure on them all
    through out their growth, to help develop their muscles. This is just the
    finishing touch."
    Several hours passed as Ritsuko worked hard with the children to get the clones
    on their own feet. Her stress levels were mounting as the minutes ticked by.
    She knew she had to hurry as although she was one of the more important people
    around NERV, no one was allowed to go around the depths of the installation for
    too long unchecked.
    "There. Now, this is so important, I can't stress it enough. Do not" she
    paused for emphasis "Do not get caught together, without one of you wearing
    these." Handing each a mask, one male and one female, she placed her hands
    deep in her pockets to admire her handiwork one last time. "I will be keeping
    an eye on you children. You don't realize what a risk I am taking by doing
    all of this. I just hope you can keep them hidden from Misato. She has been
    extra nosey lately."
    Ritsuko began entering commands into a terminal, then quickly began walking
    towards the exit. "I should be able to keep security out of our way so you can
    exit the base. But we have to hurry, The camera's will go back on soon."
    To give further ammunition to her plan for revenge on the Commander, Ritsuko
    decided to give the children information that would steer his plans in a
    different direction.
    On their way through the labyrinth, Ritsuko gave a very cryptic explanation of
    hypothetical situations that may take place in the future, regarding angels and
    the commander's plans. A more detailed explanation of the SEELE organization
    was given however, and how it had a stranglehold on NERV that the commander
    was doing his best to remove on his own. Ritsuko didn't tell them about the
    commanders own motives however. Both SEELE and Ikari required the use of
    the same devices to manifest their plans, stopping one essentially meant
    stopping the other.
    "Why are you telling us all this?" Shinji asked. "I thought the less we knew,
    the better off we would be?"
    Ritsuko grinned evilly. Her conscience remained silent, as both her and the
    children would benefit from the commander's loss. "Oh no, I haven't even
    begun to tell you anything. That was just a little bit of advice, to maybe
    allow you two a chance at stopping... something tragic from happening."
    Deciding the exit was clear, they began to prepare for the walk home. Shinji
    watched the girl as she placed her mask on. Examining his own mask, he rubbed
    it between his fingers to feel the smooth latex feel, admiring how lifelike it
    appeared, and yet how cold and slimy it was to touch. Quickly, they slipped
    out the doors and ran off into the city, each dragging their clone along with
    them.
    Ritsuko watched with a blank face as the four children left, the full
    realization of what she had done finally hitting her. Shaking her head, she
    slowly walked back into the darkness, muttering. "What the hell have I done?"
    To be continued......
    -----------------------------
    goatherder
    


End file.
